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Death toll in South Korea wildfires rises to 27-UPDATED

27 March 2025 12:38 (UTC +04:00)

Firefighters using helicopters and soldiers were struggling to contain the nation's worst-ever wildfires on Thursday that have ravaged the southeastern province of North Gyeongsang, with the death toll from the blazes reaching 27 and another 32 injured, APA reports citing Yonhap News Agency.

Since last Friday, a wave of wildfires has ravaged the region, and some 36,000 hectares of woodland have been burned, according to government data. It is nearly 13,000 ha more than the 23,794 ha damaged by the east coast wildfires in 2000, which were the worst in the nation's history at the time.

***2025-03-26 / 16:55

The death toll in the wildfires raging across South Korea's southeastern region rose to 24 and the pilot of a firefighting helicopter was killed when the aircraft crashed on Wednesday, as the country battles some of its worst forest fires in decades, APA reports citing Reuters.

The deadly wildfires have spread rapidly and forced more than 27,000 people from their homes, the government said. The blazes, fuelled by strong winds and dry weather, have razed entire neighbourhoods, closed schools and forced authorities to transfer hundreds of inmates from prisons.

"We are deploying all available personnel and equipment in response to the worst wildfires ever but the situation is not good," Acting President Han Duck-soo said, adding that the U.S. military in Korea was also assisting.

The Korea Forest Service said 24 people had been confirmed dead in the fires. It did not give a breakdown, but earlier the Safety Ministry said 14 people had died in Uiseong county, and four other deaths were linked to a blaze in Sancheong county.

Many of the dead were older people in their 60s and 70s, said Son Chang-ho, a local police official.

The Forest Service also said one of its fire-fighting helicopters crashed while trying to extinguish a blaze and the pilot was killed.

South Korea relies on helicopters to tackle forest fires because of its mountainous terrain and the incident led to the brief grounding of the fleet.

***

02:19

At least 16 people have died as multiple wildfires rage across South Korea's southeastern region, APA reports citing Reuters.

Deadly wildfires spread across South Korea's southeastern region on Tuesday, forcing thousands of residents to flee their homes and razing neighbourhoods, with authorities transferring thousands of inmates from prisons.

As of Wednesday 5 a.m. (2100 GMT), 12 people had died in a wildfire starting from Uiseong county, while four other deaths were linked to another fire from Sancheong county, according to the Safety Ministry.

Acting President Han Duck-soo has vowed to deploy firefighting helicopters and ground personnel to battle the fires, fuelled by strong winds and dry weather.

Dry conditions are expected to persist in the wildfire-hit region on Wednesday, the Safety Ministry said.

Some of the casualties occurred when they tried to escape the fire but their vehicle was overturned, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The blazes that broke out on Saturday in Uiseong are yet to be contained, gutting ancient temples and destroying homes.